For The First Time
by MugglesUnite
Summary: At Professor Slughorn's annual Christmas party, Rose Weasley gets a little angry at a certain blonde-haired Slytherin...


**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing related to Harry Potter. All credit goes to the amazing and brilliant JK Rowling. I mean, seriously, the woman is probably one of the coolest in the world!**

* * *

A large, decorated room on the third floor of Hogwarts was packed tight with people. Christmas music floated through the air and fireplaces were lit, giving off a cozy feeling. Green, red, and white decorations filled the room and in the corner of the room, a tall, green Christmas tree was standing straight, showing off how perfectly decorated it was.

Seated at a round, wooden table, Rose Weasley glanced around the room. The fact that everything was so extravagant didn't surprise her in the least; after all, it was Professor Slughorn's annual Christmas party. It was the biggest event after Halloween and before Christmas and if you were anybody at Hogwarts, you wanted to go whether you were invited by Slughorn himself or by someone who was invited by him.

Although she wished she hadn't, Rose couldn't help but notice a group of Slytherin boys standing by a fireplace. Well, if she were being honest with herself, she couldn't help but notice a _certain _Slytherin boy. His blonde hair fell messily into his face and he stood next to his friends, talking and laughing.

It was obvious that he was the center of attention; as girls walked by him, they all stared longingly. Although she didn't want to admit it, the looks he earned from other girls made Rose angry. The only thing that made her more frustrated than that, though, was that he played along. With that charming smirk of his and those silver eyes that were absolutely breathtaking, Scorpius Malfoy could make any girl's heart melt.

"Rose?"

A sudden voice shook the red-head from her thoughts. She turned away from the Slytherin boy, only to find several pairs of eyes staring at her.

"Are you listening to me?" Albus, Rose's brown-haired  
cousin, asked with a serious look on her face.

Embarrassed, Rose stammered out, "What? Oh, yes, Gryffindor is definitely going to when the House Cup, Al. I don't know why you are even worried about it!"

After a short silence, everyone around Rose started laughing making her face turn red in embarrassment.

"What?" She demanded, wanting to know what was so funny. She looked over at her younger, red-headed cousin for an explanation, but saw she was too busy laughing hysterically into Lysander Scamander's—her boyfriend's—chest. "What?" She asked again, this time her voice more serious.

Lucy Weasley, Rose's other younger cousin, giggled. "Rose, we stopped talking about the House Cup like twenty minutes ago."

Rose widened her eyes, wanting to smack herself.

Lily, who finally calmed down, smiled at her older cousin as she held her boyfriend's hand in her own. "Honestly, Rose, it's like you're in another world these days," She started laughing again, the rest of the group joining her.

"Oh, shut it. All of you!" Rose told her friends and family with a small laugh. "So what were you talking about that was so important?"

Albus grinned and slung his arm over Rose's shoulder and motioned to his younger sister. "Well, Lily here was just explaining to us her plans to get Lorcan and Dominique back together! It's exciting stuff, really..." He said sarcastically.

Lily smacked her brother's arm playfully and rolled her eyes. "They are meant to be together, okay? I'm going to make it happen, even if it's the last thing I do!" She said, sticking her nose in the air proudly.

Rose groaned, rolling her eyes at the red-headed fifth year. "Lil, you've been trying to get them together for the past two years! Why don't you just give up already?" She complained, tired of hearing her cousin drone on and on about how their cousin, Dominique, and Lysander's brother are 'soul mates'.

Lily glared at the seventh year. "Just because you are so incapable of having real feelings for someone, doesn't mean that everyone else is doomed to feel that way too." She said knowingly.

Rose narrowed her eyes. She tried to think of a comeback, but couldn't. How could she tell her cousin that she actually did have feelings for someone, but it was someone the rest of her family hated? How could she tell everyone that she had been sneaking around with a certain Slytherin boy for the past four months?

When Rose kept quiet, a smug look came onto Lily's face. "That's what I thought."

Rose sighed. She wished she had the courage to tell her family and friends that she was secretly seeing Scorpius Malfoy, but for some reason, she was too scared. She knew they would never accept it, let alone be happy for her. In some way, it was easier to just keep it all secret and completely ignore each other, which Scorpius had no problem doing.

* * *

An hour later, after dinner had been served and consumed, Rose sat at a couch with Albus by her side. Lily and Lysander had left to go dance to a slow Christmas song playing and Lucy went to go talk to Dom, leaving the two cousins alone.

Rose partially listened as Albus talked about the upcoming Quidditch game against Hufflepuff, but her attention was mostly focused across the room.

When she looked that way a few minutes earlier, she had seen Lorena Clyde, a Ravenclaw sixth year, walk up to Scorpius. Normally, if it was any other girl, it wouldn't have bothered her, but the fact that it was her made Rose furious. If Lorena was known for anything at Hogwarts, it was her _extracurricular activities _that took place in broom closets with a different guy almost every night.

At first, she thought it wouldn't be that big of a deal and Lorena would eventually walk away after being rejected—she had been trying to shag Scorpius for the past two years—but that didn't happen. Scorpius looked as if he were actually giving into her shallow antics and _that_ was what made her angry.

Now, minutes later, Lorena was practically sitting in his lap while they sat beside each other on a small loveseat and he had his arm slung over her shoulder lazily. She was giggling flirtatiously at something he just said and he was smirking proudly up at his friends, who were surrounding the couch.

Snapping herself out of it, Rose pried her eyes away from Scorpius and looked back at her cousin.

"—and I swear, if Corner doesn't get his head out of his arse, we are going to lose."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Al, you guys are going to do just fine. Hufflepuff doesn't stand a chance." She said supportively, giving her cousin a fake smile.

Albus nodded his head as though he was trying to convince himself what his cousin just said was true. "Yeah, you're right. I'm just overreacting, huh?"

"Yes," She told him honestly. "You're going to do just fine Captain."

"Thanks Rose." He said, standing up from the couch and holding out his hand for his cousin to help her up. "Slughorn is getting ready to start his speech and I want to get a seat if I'm going have to sit there for an hour and listen to him."

Rose groaned at the thought of the Potions master's speech that he did every year. She took Albus's hand and stood up, smoothing out her black, slim-fitting dress. Out of the corner of her eye, she peeked over at Scorpius again, hoping to see that he had rejected the damn Ravenclaw once more and sent her on her way.

She didn't see that at all though. Instead, what she saw made her angrier than what she saw just a few minutes before. Now, Lorena was actually sitting on his lap and his arms were wrapped around her waist as her fingers played with his messy, blonde hair.

"Rose, come on." Albus's voice interjected. "The seats are filling." He said, pulling her hand towards the small stage Slughorn would be standing on in just a few minutes.

Rose pulled her hand away from her cousin's and met his eyes. "I, uh, need to use the bathroom. Just save me a seat, okay?"

Albus hesitated before turning on his heel and walking towards Lily and Lysander, who were already sitting.

Once he was gone, Rose looked back at Scorpius and was surprised to find him already looking at her with a blank expression on his face. She shot him a very obvious death glare before quickly walking away. Within thirty seconds, she had crossed the room and was out into the dimly-lit, empty corridor. She started down the hallway and it was only a matter of minutes before she heard footsteps running after her.

"Weasley!"

A voice behind her called out. She knew who it was, but she wasn't going to give in that easily so she stayed silent and kept walking.

"Hey, wait." He called out again and Rose could tell he was catching up. It was a few seconds before she felt a hand wrap around her arm, bringing her to a quick stop.

She whirled around, her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed. "What do you want?"

His expression hardened when their eyes met. "What the hell is the matter?"

Rose shook her head, pulling her arm away from his grip. "You've got to be bloody kidding me!" She said, her voice rising with every word. "Just leave me alone, Scorpius." She said coldly before turning around and beginning to walk away again.

She didn't get very far before she felt his hand grab her arm again. "Is this about Lorena?" He asked, his temper rising. "You know I don't care about her!"

Rose scoffed. "Yeah, well you sure have a funny way of showing it!"

"Oh, come on! As if you haven't been sending eyes at Davies for the past month and a half!" He countered with a cold voice.

Rose threw her hands up in frustration. "Don't even start!" She said quickly. "Me looking at Callum Davies and you practically having sex with Lorena Clyde are two completely different things!"

This time is was Scorpius's turn to scoff. "You're overreacting."

"Oh, so you're saying if the roles were reversed and I was the one sitting on Callum's lap at a party you would perfectly okay with it?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Scorpius opened his mouth to say something, but closed it quickly when he couldn't come up with anything.

"That's what I thought," She said angrily.

"You know what?" He asked loudly. "If I remember correctly, you're the one who wanted to keep this whole thing a secret in the first place! You're the one who said that we should see other people so people wouldn't get the idea that we were together!"

"Oh, please, Scorpius! Don't make me look the bad guy here!"

"I'm only doing what you asked!"

"So if I said I was okay with it, you'd go running to Grandpa Lucius and tell him that you were sneaking around with me?"

Rose didn't know why, but she saw his face soften. "No, I wouldn't," He told her, his voice lowering. "I wouldn't tell him I was sneaking around with you…I'd tell him I was in love with you." He admitted sheepishly.

She furrowed her eyebrows when she heard his words. She shook her head with a sigh. "Scorp—"

"No, Rose," He said, cutting her off as he took a step towards her. "Just stop talking for once in your life and listen, okay? I'm done caring about what others will think. I'm done worrying about what my grandfather will say. My dad is in his forties and still hasn't found the courage to stand up to him and I refuse to end up like that!" He raised his hands and cupped her face. "I get that you're scared to tell your family and your friends. I was too, but I'm not anymore, alright? I love you."

As she looked into his gray, mysterious eyes with her own brown ones, Rose felt like her knees were about to buckle. She knew she should say something, but she couldn't find the words.

"You don't have to say it back if you don't feel the same," He told her in a voice barely above a whisper as his fingers knotted themselves into her long, red hair. He smiled softly and leaned his head down to plant a small kiss onto her forehead.

Rose shut her eyes at the feeling on Scorpius's lips against her head and she melted into him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she pressed her body against his. But still, she stayed silent.

"You know, for the first time, I'm actually hopeful for my future." He whispered. "You make me hopeful, Rose."

She smiled at this as her head rested in the crook of his neck. "Our future," She whispered quietly. "It's not just your future, it's ours."

Scorpius smiled widely and Rose looked up to meet his eyes. She was surprised when she didn't see his infamous smirk, but an actual smile; a smile that was genuine and sincere.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Rose Weasley."


End file.
